Toshiba launches 3TB 2.5-inch HDD

Alexey Zhukov

14:04, January 8, 2015

Toshiba is launching a 3TB 2.5-inch hard disk drive (HDD), the industry's largest capacity. The company also showcased at CES a reference PCI Express (PCIe) single package SSD, integrating up to 256 GB in a single BGA package.

Utilizing perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) technology, the "MQ03ABB300" is the first 2.5-inch HDD to achieve 750GB per platter, using a total of 4 platters to achieve storage of 3TB.

Suitable for external personal storage devices and space-constrained use cases requiring high storage capacity, the new HDD is small in size but large in storage capability.

The new HDD consumes less power while offers 50 percent larger capacity compared to Toshiba?s previous generation 4-platter 2TB model.

Toshiba will start sampling the new drive in May.

The "BG Series" SSDs showcased at CES are on reference display and are products under development. Utilizing Toshiba's packaging technology applied in products like eMMC, it is the world's first PCI Express single package SSD, available in capacities up to 256 GB in a 16 mm x 20 mm x 1.65 mm BGA package. Toshiba also showcased a reference display of the world's smallest removable module type SSD, which integrates the BGA single package SSD on a single-sided form factor.

The new SSDs incorporate PCI Express, a high speed serial I/O interface for PCs, as physical interface and NVM Express optimized for SSDs as command interface.

The single package type SSDs of the new series weigh below 1g, reducing weight by approximately 98%, compared to 2.5-inch types widely used in PCs. It also reduces storage space by more than 95%. It can contribute to light-weight mobile PCs and also to longer battery life by increasing available space for battery packs.